It looks like the must-have item in every glamorous woman's winter wardrobe: a sleek, black fur coat dripping with opulence.

But despite the seductive appearance, the coat is not mink or sable. Instead, it has been manufactured from dog fur - possibly from an animal that was drugged and skinned alive to preserve the fur's freshness.

Similar coats are selling rapidly in fashion boutiques across Europe.

An undercover investigation has revealed a booming trade in dog fur coats from eastern Europe, some of which are likely to be on sale in Britain. The fur, which comes from both strays and captured pets, is often re-labelled to disguise its origins before being stitched into coats and re-dyed. This Bulgarian fur, for instance, was incorrectly passed off as "Korean Wolf".

Unlike a mink, which can cost £10,000, a top-price coat made from dog pelt may sell in markets of western Europe for around £400.

The investigation by a German television documentary crew focused on Bulgaria, where it found that stray dogs were routinely rounded up by licensed trappers and delivered to fur factories.

Anita Singh, a campaign co-ordinator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in Britain, said that there were also reports of pets being snatched for their fur. "They tend to be bigger dogs like German shepherds or golden retrievers," she said. "It is important for people to realise that when they buy fur it is nearly impossible to tell whether real dog or cat has been used unless it undergoes extensive DNA testing.

"You can find dog fur in shopping centres in Britain labelled as something else. It is a disgusting industry and our advice is simply to avoid all types of fur."

It is not illegal to trade in dog and cat fur in Britain, although bans have been imposed in the United States, Sweden, Denmark, Greece, Italy, France and Australia.

The British Fur Trade Association, which represents the fur industry, said none of its members knowingly used dog fur, and it had introduced a labelling system to try to guard against its use.

Most furs - such as mink, fox, seal or rabbit - have their own classification so it is possible to see how much is imported and exported. Fur that falls under the "other fur" category, however, does not have to be listed by species and could include dog or cat fur.

Historically, the British have been unwilling to buy dog fur. In the children's book, 101 Dalmatians, written by Dodie Smith in 1948, the villainous Cruella de Vil tries to steal dalmatian puppies to make herself a unique spotted coat.

Yordanka Zrcheva, the president of the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Animals, went undercover for a German television documentary to demonstrate the extent of the problem.

Miss Zrcheva said that the country, which is hoping to join the European Union in just over a year, produced "tens of thousands" of dog pelts to sell across Europe.

"There is a massive industry based on the systematic killing of dogs," she said. "There are dog fur factories all over Bulgaria, and they produce all sorts of items, like fur coats, leather shoes and bags made from dogs and so on."

According to Rumi Becker, a spokesman for the Doctors for Animals group which works for the protection of Bulgaria's stray dogs, the authorities are unwilling to clamp down because the industry is "big business".

In Bulgaria the average salary is around £35 a month, while a teacher makes about £80 a month and a doctor £100. One fur coat can be sold inside the country for £200 and more than double that abroad.

"It is hard to collate exact numbers but around 10,000 dogs are collected and killed in Sofia alone every year, often shipped straight to fur factories from dog pounds and animal shelters," said Dr Becker.

"The so-called fur lords who run the factories are farming the dogs on the street without having to pay any support. They don't have to feed or house them or anything except round them up and then skin them.

"I bought a black and white coat labelled Korean Wolf. I asked if it was made with street dog fur, and the vendor said it was, but that I should keep my voice down. I was pretending to be a dealer, and asked if it would be possible to have more. She told me she had 750 in a storeroom in Sofia."

Last week, the anti-fur campaigner Heather Mills McCartney urged the European Union to ban the trade in cat and dog fur, citing the example of the Czech Republic.

"Domestic cats are stolen off the streets, and we're talking about 2,000 to 3,000 just in the Czech Republic, not in the whole of Europe," she said.

skinning an animal while it's still alive is pretty fucked up. there was a video going around a couple years ago that showed animals being skinned alive and writhing around in pain. i couldn't watch very much of it

Anita Singh, a campaign co-ordinator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in Britain, said that there were also reports of pets being snatched for their fur. "They tend to be bigger dogs like German shepherds or golden retrievers," she said. "It is important for people to realise that when they buy fur it is nearly impossible to tell whether real dog or cat has been used unless it undergoes extensive DNA testing.

Anything PETA says I have to instantly question validity of. They kill more animals than anyone else. Not to mention, the idea of skinning it alive to keep the "fur fresh" is stupid. It is used to elicit extra sympathy. You kill the animal, skin it, tan the hide, preserve the pelt. What are they trying to say, that they would otherwise kill the animals, let the body/fur rot a little, then skin it? No, all the killers are most likely doing is capturing LIVE animals to kill instead of collecting up dead animals from traps.

It's still wrong, if the animals are abused or stolen pets and such. But rabbit, mink, fox, cat, dog, wolf, bear, snake, alligator, etc.... if presented as what it is, and there is a buyer... so be it. But don't make a stray cat coat and sell it as mink.

No Expert

Zombies are the liberal nightmare. Here you have the masses, whom you would love to love, appearing at your front door with their faces falling off; and you're trying to be as humane as you possibly can, but they are, after all, eating the cat.

Anything PETA says I have to instantly question validity of. They kill more animals than anyone else. Not to mention, the idea of skinning it alive to keep the "fur fresh" is stupid. It is used to elicit extra sympathy. You kill the animal, skin it, tan the hide, preserve the pelt. What are they trying to say, that they would otherwise kill the animals, let the body/fur rot a little, then skin it? No, all the killers are most likely doing is capturing LIVE animals to kill instead of collecting up dead animals from traps.

Yes I have to agree.....I would take everything the PETARD'S say with a grain of salt.......

Originally Posted By Mr_Happyface:Sofia, Bulgaria is THE SHIT!That place is awesome, you can go there and throw money around like a bastard and only spend, like, 50 bucks.

On what?

A guy I know taught English in Bulgaria and liked it because it was so laid back and cheap. He'd sit around smoking cigarettes, playing cards, and drinking wine all day and no one thought bad of him, because that's what everyone does all day. Fine as far as that goes, but what else is there to do in Bulgaria?

Originally Posted By Mr_Happyface:Sofia, Bulgaria is THE SHIT!That place is awesome, you can go there and throw money around like a bastard and only spend, like, 50 bucks.

On what?

A guy I know taught English in Bulgaria and liked it because it was so laid back and cheap. He'd sit around smoking cigarettes, playing cards, and drinking wine all day and no one thought bad of him, because that's what everyone does all day. Fine as far as that goes, but what else is there to do in Bulgaria?

Shoot, I don't know...

I was on R&R, all I really did was drink.That country is perfect for it.

AND I got the added bonus of being, "offered services" by a transvestite hooker, which officially became the wierdest thing to ever happen to me.

The source is not PETA. Read again: There were several investigative reporters in Germany- the most prominent being Manfred Karremann that took pics and videos in fur farms of cats & dogs which barely got one hit on the head and were skinned while being dizzy- but alive. This happened not once but several time. They slaughter such an amount of pets that there is no time for properly killing them before skinning. I saw the report-its horrible. The fucked up EC is too stupid to ban import and selling of dog & cat fur like the USA did!!.

Undercover investigators documented warehouses in China filled to capacity with skins and pelts awaiting shipment to the US, Russia and the EU.Asian merchants bragged that they could fraudulently label any item to confuse consumers, dye it to appear as though it was faux fur (or even mink) or not label it at all.The US banned the import, export, sale and production of cat and dog fur in the US in 2002 -- when evidence was shown that dog fur was being sold on parka jackets at the Burlington Coat Factory and on cat figurines on sale at Hallmark. Both retailers had no idea the items contained real fur.

Originally Posted By Cato:The source is not PETA. Read again: There were several investigative reporters in Germany that took pics and videos of cats & dogs which barely gotone hit on the head and were skinned while being dizzy- but alive.

Thanks for pointing this out to the typical knee-jerk crowd..."It's PETA propaganda. The end."

I don't support PETA, but I also don't shrug off disgusting cruelty to animals either. Very over simplistic to call it propaganda.

That is unfortunate, but at least PETA is complaining where the USA is not a the center of the controversy. Most countries in the world could careless of the whining people of PETA etc. That is why it is only done in the USA where the govt actually does somewhat care. I bet in most countries this would be regarded as controlling stray animals.

I saw a feature on this on NOVA. It was so sad. They actually filmed a dog being skinned alive. I don't like the idea of dogs [or cats] being used for food or clothing but if it has to be done, why on earth can't it be done humanly?

Once again, Patty proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that women are indeedsmarter than men. Originally posted by ARDunstan

Originally Posted By pdxshooter:How many millions of dogs do we kill each year?

How many cats?

Is this really different?

I doubt the skinning alive part... seems not worth the effort when you could just kill 'em and skin 'em.

Don't really care about the killing part. It's sad but that's just the way it is. People kill animals to make stuff they want/need.

As to the skinning, I've heard that claim from other sources too. Not that far fetched. It's not done as torture but because they want to damage as little fur as possible and spend as little time as possible per animal. So whack 'em in the head once, if they die ok, if not ok. If they aren't squirming too much while you slice 'em... fine.

Still disgusting. Just because you don't do it with the intent to be cruel doesn't make it ok to not give a shit about pain and suffering of the animals.

Oh man, at least kill them completely before skinning them.Thats sick. What's worse is the picture of dogs on rope(leash) waiting to be next. I dont care what anyone says, of all animals I think dogs are the most able to display human emotion. To treat them like that reflects the turd-worlds value on life.